Mark Beck

Mark Beck’s paintings are rich in artistic tradition and often rely on landscape genre to reveal their narrative. A common thread in many of Beck’s paintings is the inclusion of small, simple structures often juxtaposed against the beauty (and sometimes fury) of the sea. He describes his paintings as representations of his ideas and thoughts on the American experience and although nature features prominently in his work, his art is very much about human interaction with the natural world.

Beck’s work is inspired by the beautiful works of the Hudson River School of painters and also by the more sober visions of American life as presented by work from artists Edward Hopper and Ben Shahn. Beauty is important to Beck, both in the materials he selects and in the methods he uses in applying the paint.

Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Beck studied at the Portland School of Art in Maine. For four years, Beck worked teaching inmates to paint at the maximum security prison The California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo. “I’ve always credited that experience with being a continuing and fascinating source of inspiration for my paintings,” said Beck. “Many aspects of the prison system and the people incarcerated there can teach us a lot about our life here in America.”